Young Cinemagoer Figures Dramatically Drop

As the number of young cinema visitors begins to decrease, should we be blaming the cinemas and their high prices or the sudden surge of VOD services?

Figures at 2014’s Cinemacon reported that the age group of 18-24’s dropped rather dramatically by 21% in 2013, with the age group of 12-17’s falling by 15%.

But as youth audiences continue to embrace the ever available technology offerings from mobile devices to streaming services such as Amazon Price and Netflix, rather than fixate on the declining figures at cinemas, maybe distributors should further target new and developing ways of how we view the latest films and combine both cinema and digital technology.

Most recently the kickstarter funded film Veronica Mars launched in cinemas while simultaneously becoming available via the itunes store. And at a price tag of approximately £13 via itunes, which is only a tad more than a cinema ticket at the local theatre (at least in London anyway!) this option could be pushed further for mainstream releases.

As Chris Dodd, Head of Motion Picture Association of America said this week at Cinemacon, “The reality is that technology without content is just technology.”

What are your thoughts? Do you cherish the cinema experience and the big screen or are you happy to pay a few extra £s and have the film downloaded to your ipad instantly and remain in your film library?